The Tigers certainly weren't expecting excellence from Peralta in the outfield. They were just hoping to avoid an atrocity. What they got was passable -- and that was fine with them.

"You might as well make up your mind," Leyland said. "If you play Jhonny Peralta in left field, you're saying that you're willing to accept what you get."

The Tigers know they're going to get suspect defense from Peralta in left field. But in return, they're going to get a potent bat in their lineup -- a bat that was arguably the Tigers' second-best in the first half of the season.

And on Friday, Peralta showed signs that it might still be just as powerful -- even after a 53-day layoff.

Playing in his first game since completing a 50-game suspension, Peralta answered most concerns about his timing after he turned on a 92-mph fastball for a double in the sixth.

The ball reached the deepest part of the ballpark at Marlins Park, scoring pinch-runner Matt Tuiasosopo to cut the Marlins' lead to 3-2, chasing Miami starter Tom Koehler.

It was one of only seven hits the Tigers could manage against the Marlins' pitching staff, which held Detroit to one extra-base hit -- Peralta's RBI double.

"I felt pretty good at the plate," Peralta said. "The most important thing is I saw the ball well. The breaking ball and everything. I could see everything."

Peralta went hitless in his other three plate appearances, but made solid contact in every at-bat. There was never a point where he appeared overpowered or lost at the plate.

It was a good showing for Peralta, who recognizes that he has very limited time to impress the Tigers before they must make a decision regarding their postseason roster.

"The more the time I play, I think I can get better," he said. "We'll see what happens in the next couple days."

Leyland isn't yet willing to comment as to whether Peralta will make the playoff cut. He's still in the evaluation process. But he did make it clear that he doesn't expect Peralta to be a Gold Glove outfielder.

"He's not going to be Andy Dirks or Don Kelly that fast," Leyland said. "It's just not going to happen that fast."

For the most part, Peralta passed for an average left fielder Friday night. He saw very little action, but when a fly ball was hit his way, he caught it. When he needed to hit his cutoff man, he hit him. His throw home in the sixth inning? It was strong and accurate.

But there was one glaring problem that stood out Friday night. Peralta looked slow in the outfield.

That was made abundantly clear in the sixth when he was late getting to a soft liner off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton, which ended up scoring three critical runs.

Even Leyland admitted that Peralta appeared "a little sluggish."

"He was slow getting to the ball by Stanton," Leyland said. "But overall he did fine -- first time out there in a big league game."

Stanton's double likely should've only scored two, but Peralta got a bad jump on the ball and took a terrible route, allowing Christian Yelich to score from first, which gave the Marlins a 3-0 lead. It proved to be the difference in the game.

"You're either willing to accept what you get, which is obviously a hit, or you're not," Leyland said of Peralta.

Right now, it's a trade the Tigers appear willing to make. But there's still two games to play this weekend, which gives the Marlins plenty of time to help the Tigers change their mind.